A Place to Belong
by Jade Aislin
Summary: Truths from a forgotten past force Duo to reveal his deepest secret to the guys. Will they still accept him? 1x2


Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own either Buffy or Gundam Wing.  
Beta: Queen Sereya.  
Warning: Willow bashing. Light slash 1x2 or is it 1+2? Duo is actually a character from Buffy.  
Spoiler: Set sometime after the Gundam Wing boys made it to Earth.

A whirlwind breezed through the room as Duo danced across the room, braiding his hair as he went. Tying off the end, he glanced outside at the gently falling snow and paused to watch the calm scene. He'd rarely seen actual snow. Certainly not while he lived on the colony. L2 was lucky if it got rain, let alone snow which was probably a good thing or he would have died long before meeting the other pilots.

They were his friends, his brothers. Quatre, the perfect partner in pranks as his innocent look fooled anyone who gazed at his puppy dog eyes; Trowa, whose quiet steady presence made a great sounding board; Wufei, who pretended not to care, but deep down you know he did. Why else would he merely grumble at Duo's antics? And finally, there was Heero. Heero, who loved him, even if the words were never said. Duo could hear them in his actions, when he checked him over after a mission, when he fondly called him 'baka'.

Life was great for Duo, hence his dancing round the room as he got ready for dinner that night. Sure, there was still the war going on and they could be forced to leave this safe house at a moments notice. But right now, Duo wanted to focus on the positive.

Shaking his head, he made his way down stairs. He barged into the living room with his usually exuberance only to be stopped by Heero's outstretched arm. "Oomph! Heero?"

Heero placed Duo behind him and glared at a growing point of light, one hand on his gun. He and the others had been waiting on Duo, when the light had appeared in the middle of the room. The other pilots quickly followed Heero's lead and aimed guns that had been hidden in various places at the pulsating orb.

Quatre cocked his head to the side. He didn't know what it was, but there was something strange about that light that seemed to grow brighter with each pulse.

Duo stared at the ball of light, frowning. It seemed familiar somehow. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he cursed softly, "Oh, shit."

Heero briefly glanced back at Duo in curiosity before turning back to the now blinding orb. Finally the orb pulsed one more time and revealed a woman with short red hair. Heero flipped the safety off his gun, not sure if this girl was a threat.

The girl looked to be in her twenties. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to reveal startling green eyes. Seeing the gun, she meeped and threw out her hand palm up. "No guns."

Heero blinked as his gun suddenly disappeared. He glared at the girl and got into a defensive stance.

"Easy, easy," she said. "I don't mean any harm."

Heero growled. Glancing around, he realized the others had also lost their guns, but Trowa and Wufei had quickly replaced them with a knife and sword respectively.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" Quatre asked, giving her a hard stare.

"And what did you do with MY GUN?!" Heero snarled.

The girl paled and took a step backward. Taking a quick breath, she seemed to gather herself. "I'm not here to hurt anyone and you don't need those things anyways. I'm just trying to find my friend. I swear. He'd be about five now. Maybe, so high," she said and indicated a height just below her hip. "Has brown eyes."

Heero nearly lunged at the girl in anger, stopped only by the firm grip Duo had on his shoulder. Heero looked back to see Duo's face filled with irritation. He shook his head silently.

"There's no one here that fits that description, as you can see," Quatre said. "Now I must insist Miss, how did you get in here?"

The girl frowned. "Oh, just a simple spell I learned," she waved absently. "And of course Xander's here. I used him as the focus."

Heero frowned. Why was that name familiar. He noticed Trowa staring at him. No. Not him. Behind him. At Duo. His eyes widened. Now he remembered. A firm squeeze had him stepping to the side as Duo stepped forward.

"Go, home Willow," Duo said.

Three eyes widened in shock. Quatre glanced accusingly at Trowa who merely gazed back blandly.

"Wha? Who are you? How do you now my name?" The girl demanded.

Duo snorted. "How do you think?"

Willow stared at the violet eyed youth, getting a thoughtful look. He gave her a goofy grin and she gasped. "Xander! You're here. Your hair! Your eyes! What happened?"

"Oh I'd say a lethal dose of magic radiation," Duo spat sarcastically. "Now you mind answering Quat's question. Why are you here?"

Willow gulped. "To bring you home."

Heero's eyes narrowed. Duo shook his head. "No thanks."

"Maxwell," Wufei interrupted, "what is the meaning of this?"

Duo chewed his bottom lip. "Old history."

Willow squeaked.

"You know this onna?"

Duo nodded. "A life time ago. Before I became Duo. In fact, she's the reason I was ever on L2 to begin with."

Wufei's eyes widened.

Willow straightened her back and stared at Duo. "I don't know what you're talking about. But obviously someone's placed a spell on you to make you age so fast."

Duo gave her an incredulous stare. "Like the permanent de-aging one you did?"

"That wasn't my fault," she said dismissively. She glanced at her watch before continuing, "Besides you shouldn't have interrupted me."

"It was my home." Duo said.

Willow shrugged. "Well I'm fixing things now. And how are you a teen again anyway?"

"It's called growing up. You should try it sometime," Duo snarked.

Heero smirked and stepped closer to his boyfriend.

"Come on, Xander," Willow said, "You'll forgive me. You always do."

"Xander is dead, Willow," Duo said. "He died at the age of three on the L2 colony."

"No. No. No. I'm trying to fix things," she complained. "Why would you want to stay here? You don't belong."

Duo's eyes narrowed. "Stop trying to fix things that don't need fixing!"

"But. . ."

Duo shook his head violently. "Willow, you messed up big time. You made me a three year old and then, in an effort to 'fix' things, you sent me flinging through time and space! I was lucky to land in a colony and not space. Xander Harris' life ended when I woke up on L2. It's like a bad dream to me. I've lived here for over 12 years. Now go home!"

"Is this true, Maxwell?" Wufei asked.

Duo gave a short nod. "You know me, Wufei," Wufei's eyes narrowed at the use of his full name, letting him know how serious his friend was. "I never lie. Sorry I never told you or Quat. Hell, I didn't even say much to Tro. It was like a past life."

Wufei frowned, but Trowa nodded his agreement. Duo had only told him about nightmares that were like another life, he had never expected this. But knowing Duo, he should have guessed. Duo looked at the group with worry. He hoped they could accept it. A firm grip on his wrist had him nearly sighing in relief and he gave a quick smile to Heero.

"It's alright, Duo," Quatre said as he gave Trowa the last gun he had retrieved. "You're still our friend."

Wufei nodded and Duo leaned slightly against Heero. He pulled away as Willow threw up her hands only to have five guns again pointed straight at her.

"But you don't belong here!?! You belong in the 20th century with your friends," she whined. She stomped her foot for emphasis, which had all the boys looking at her like she was some child throwing a tantrum. As she did this, a light started to emanate from her and she realized she was almost out of time. "You have to come back where you belong."

Duo glared at her. "For what? To be treated like an idiot! Only useful when something's broke or you get hungry. Always having to watch my own back 'cuz I never know when some stray spell's gonna stab me in the back. Like I said, no thanks. I'd rather stay here, war and all."

"War!" She shrieked. Getting a determined look, she made a quick lunge at Duo, but he skillfully evaded her arms and let Heero block her next attempt. She would have tried at third but a growl had her scrambling away from the blue eyed boy in fear. She cried out desperately, "This is not your time!"

Heero wrapped his arms around his boyfriend possessively. Duo glanced at the rest of his friends. "At least I'm needed here. I have friends I can actually trust here."

"You can trust us!" She said. The light was pulsating now making it hard to keep their eyes on her but their guns never waivered.

"Last time I did that I wound up on the streets as a three year old," Duo snarled. "On top of that I've got a boyfriend who accepts me for me and doesn't try to make me something I'm not. I belong here."

Willow started to fade as the light grew stronger. "I'll come back Xander. I promise."

Duo shook his head. "No you won't. Can't you feel it? All the magic's almost all dried up in this century. You'd only be going on a one way trip. And this time, Willow, I don't need you."

Duo swore he could here her screams echo as she blinked out. He turned to the guys. "So. . . Uh . . . Surprise?"

Heero snorted.

"We're okay? Right guys?" Duo asked after a few moments of silence.

Wufei snorted. "Only you, Maxwell. Only you."

Quatre snickered while Trowa nodded his head, silently giving his own support.

"Heero?" Duo asked. After a minute of silence as Heero glared at the now empty spot, Duo sighed. "I understand."

Looking down, he tried to step away, only to stop at the firm grip around his wrist. Gently, Heero raised Duo's chin so he could stare deeply into pools of dark blue filled with warmth. He gave the braided boy a quick peck on the lips. Noticing Duo's bewildered expression, Heero gave a small smirk. "Baka."

Duo collapsed against Heero with a grin, hugging the boy tightly. With one word, he knew everything was going to be fine. Even if Heero would be grumbling about his lost gun for months.

The End


End file.
